Texas delegation reacts to State of the Union

“President Obama asserts that America is moving in the right direction. But a nation that has $16 trillion in debt and 22.7 million unemployed citizens is moving in exactly the wrong direction.

“The president speaks of the need to halt the rise in government borrowing and to stabilize our debt. Stabilizing our debt isn’t enough; we must reduce it. Halting the rise in borrowing isn’t enough; we must learn to live within our means and break our dependence on deficit spending.

“We cannot continue to spend what we do not have, and we cannot continue to depress this economy by trying to borrow and tax our way to prosperity.

“In addition to strengthening our economy, we must also ensure that the freedoms promised to Americans in the Constitution are protected and defended. The gun control measures proposed by the president would deprive law-abiding citizens of their constitutional rights, and these overreaching measures will not pass Congress. I will strongly stand in opposition of any new legislation that would restrict the constitutional rights of Americans to keep and bear arms.”

Rep. Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands,

“I thought the president was lacking a pro-growth jobs agenda. Jobs has never been a top priority for him, and thats the reason unemployment is higher today than when he took office four years ago. I think the 22 million Americans who can’t find a full time job was listening to that speech and wondering why is global warming, guns, and green cards a higher priority than finding work for a person like me. And that’s where the president’s weakness continues.”

Rep. Kevin Brady

“The one thing I would commend him on is that he actually responded to the push by many of us in the trade community to begin launch talks with the European Union. I think thats important both for Texas and for the country.”

“He’s a divisive president, up here I didn’t see that changing. I think Congress is going to try to find, just as it did recently at the end of the year, find a way we can sit down together rather than with the White House to try and find solutions.”

Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio,

“I thought it was an impassioned speech. Quite forceful. He spoke with a passion that I have not seen in prior years, and of course addressed all of the issues of the day like immigration, gun safety, the nation’s fiscal situation. But also, he talked about long term solutions to keep our nations the greatest nation in the world. Like reforming prekinder education and higher education, also out relationship with the rest of the world, so I thought he covered about as much ground as he could cover in an hours speech.”

Rep. Joaquin Castro

“On energy for example…of course that’s big for the state of Texas. the president supports natural gas exploration which you have going on”

“I dont remember him mentioning the specific number of 7.9 percent unemployment, but he talked about poverty, he talked about the need to make sure that when people work hard, when they work 40 hours a week, that they can earn a living to do more than just subsist or survive. While he didn’t mention (unemployment) directly, he gave context to the problem.”

“Specifically (I want to see) three big things: immigration reform, solution to the fiscal situation that lasts longer than 6 months because of the hostage politics that has been going on by Republicans, and then finally some gun safety reform. I think those are the things that we’ll see in 2013.

Rep. Pete Olson, R-Sugar Land,

“What I heard tonight was borderline delusional – a return to the failed policies of the past. Our addiction to spending is like an addiction to drugs. President Obama wants to make us more dependent on government spending. We know what happens to the addict who can’t kick his habit, yet the President’s prescription is more drugs.

Rep. Pete Olson

“The American taxpayer simply cannot afford these failed policies. Remember, when he says “balanced approach,” he means more taxes. Taxes haven’t caused our massive debt. Spending has. My House colleagues and I serve as the final backstop to a tax-and-spend agenda that can’t and won’t fix our economy.

“The best thing that President Obama can do for this economy is to acknowledge the obvious problem: we must reduce spending and we must restore and preserve Social Security and Medicare. Low, fair tax rates and limited, sensible regulations will do more to strengthen our economy than any costly stimulus proposals the President can dream up.

“President Obama asked for the across-the-board cuts and he should have the political courage to stick with them. If he’s concerned about their impact, he should come up with a list of immediate targeted cuts to replace them, but the amount of the cuts must be the same.

“The House passed legislation last year that would replace harmful national security cuts with alternatives that reduce spending the right way. I favor passing this legislation again immediately and the President should urge the Senate to pass it so we can protect our military.”

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz,

The President had an opportunity to reach across the aisle and propose policies to produce economic growth. Unfortunately, he chose instead to embrace unabashed liberalism.

President Obama only knows how to grow government, not the economy.

Sen. Ted Cruz

Under President Obama, the economy is entering its fifth year of substandard annual growth – 0.8% on average — compared to an average of 3.3% for the last 70 years.

If the President’s big-government policies were enacted, they would make it harder for the 23 million people out of work to find a job, harder for young people coming out of school to find their first job, and harder for Hispanics and African Americans struggling to achieve the American dream.

There is potential for real bipartisan cooperation in Congress to get the economy growing and help people get back to work, but expanding government spending, debt, taxes, and control of the economy will only make the problem worse.

Rep. Bill Flores, R-Bryan,

“In this evening’s address, President Obama emphasized the need to improve our economy and create jobs. Yet, the solutions that were set forth are just more of the same rhetoric that we have heard over the last four years of his presidency. When President Obama took office back on 2009, he promised to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term. He did not come close. In fact, the deficit is now larger than our GDP. Our economy continues to struggle due to the inherit weakness of the president’s economic policies and trillions of dollars of additional federal debt.

Rep. Bill Flores on the campaign trail (AP photo)

“Once again the president has put forth spending more money on stimulus policies, much like the failed stimulus of 2009 that cost the American taxpayers over $800 billion. Given that it did not work the first time around, it is beyond me why we would again squander hard-working American tax dollars. The president told Americans that his 2009 stimulus plan would reduce unemployment to 5.9 percent by now; unfortunately his plan failed and unemployment remains close to 8 percent. The current economic recovery under his policies is the worst in our country’s history since World War II and is less than half the recovery we experienced under the policies of Ronald Reagan.

“As opposed to the big-government, tax and spend polices that the president favors, it is time that we address the root of the problem – the unprecedented out-of-control federal spending. Reducing our national debt will produce a stable environment for job creation. We can improve our economy and increase job creation through ‘Main Street’, common-sense solutions that work toward controlling spending, reducing the federal debt without raising taxes. In addition, we need to reform our broken tax system to make America competitive, reform the heavy hand of federal regulation that is killing American jobs, and promote an ‘all-of-the-above’ approach to grow American jobs and reduce the cost of energy for economic growth. These improvements can expand opportunities so that all Americans can prosper and have a fair shot at achieving their individual American Dream.”

Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Corpus Christi,

Texas Sen. John Cornyn,
“Each year the President has promised, pledged, and pivoted, but American families continue to confront persistently high unemployment, rising health care costs, and the prospect of losing more of their hard-earned paychecks to tax increases.

Sen. John Cornyn

“If we want to grow the nation’s economy and create jobs, Washington needs to embrace the Texas model. I will continue to push this President to adopt our proven formula of limited government, low taxes, and sensible regulations – because America can, and should, do much better.”

Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Dallas,

“In tonight’s address, President Obama once again touted his ostensible commitment to job creation and fiscal responsibility. Unfortunately, the American people have heard these empty campaign promises for the past four years. Instead of turning his rhetoric into responsible action, the President’s policies have burdened our economy with unprecedented levels of spending, record deficits and debt, and inevitably high unemployment. It’s time for a new direction, not retreaded policies.

“As Congress faces several upcoming fiscal deadlines, I urge the President to join House Republican efforts to address our nation’s spending crisis. We have voted twice to replace his sequester with responsible spending reductions and reforms that will begin to trim down our deficit and ultimately balance our budget. Instead of proposing job-destroying tax hikes on hardworking families to pay for Washington’s unrestrained spending, the President should chart a new course for his presidency and promote pro-growth policies that will get our fiscal house in order.

“In the 113th Congress, House Republicans will continue to provide common-sense solutions to the challenges of our time. It is my hope that in the President’s second term he will finally join our efforts to get our nation’s spending under control so we can get Americans back to work, provide certainty in the marketplace, and create a brighter future for generations to come.”

Rep. Gene Green, D-Houston,

Rep. Gene Green

“I could not agree more with the President on focusing on creating jobs and growing the middle class, especially through investing in our domestic manufacturing and national infrastructure. We need to improve the education and skills of our students and workers to keep jobs in the US. I was also glad to hear him speak of strengthening our energy sector and speeding up oil and gas permits since so much of our nation’s economy depends on reliable and affordable energy. I hope the President’s speech serves as a springboard for Congress to address these issues through bipartisan cooperation.”

Rep. Marc Veasey, Fort Worth,

“Tonight, President Obama presented his vision for leading our country forward. The President outlined his plan for building a strong middle class and a strong America. He outlined priorities important to working families in my district and across the country.

Rep. Marc Veasey

I’m honored to represent the Metroplex and am working hard to ensure that the voices of those in the 33rd Congressional District are heard. I’m fighting for well-paying manufacturing jobs, funding for public schools, Medicare and Social Security and comprehensive immigration reform.

Julieta Garibay, a DREAMer and undocumented immigrant, joined me for the President’s State of the Union Address. Tonight, I reaffirm my commitment to making comprehensive immigration reform a reality. I look forward to working with the President and my colleagues across the aisle to ensure that we move our country in the right direction.”

Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler,

Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo,

“Tonight, President Obama addressed some of the biggest issues of concern for the American people. However, there is more work that needs to be done. First, we need to work with our friends across the aisle to find an effective way to reduce our nation’s deficit. Second, the sequester is right around the corner, and it is imperative we reach a bipartisan and balanced approach to avoid additional cuts to education, health and social services. These cuts can also jeopardize our public safety, including assistance to law enforcement agencies, which are crucial to my district,” said Congressman Cuellar.

Rep. Henry Cuellar

In addition to protecting the middle class, Congressman Cuellar also emphasized the need for a comprehensive immigration reform.

“The moment to act on immigration reform is now. It is necessary that members from both parties reach an agreement on how best to welcome immigrants to our country. This will not only enhance our immigration system, but it will also make our borders more secure, while at the same time improving trade and commerce.”

Rep. Al Green, D-Houston,

“I thought the president expressed what I call values”

Rep. Al Green

“The state of the union is strong and the state of the economy is strengthening. To protect is as it strengthens we need to invest in infrastructure.”

Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson

Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson

On the Economy:

“The President’s address focused on how best to grow our economy and create more jobs, and I applaud his efforts to ensure that our country is moving forward. Investments in research and innovation are key to our efforts to create more jobs. The mandatory cuts that are set to take effect after March 1st will be detrimental to research institutions like the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and FDA. We must invest in research and development because it is critical for America to remain a leader in global innovation.”

“As the President noted in his address, we must encourage companies to make it in America so that we can bolster our manufacturing sector. Investments in our future are imperative to moving our country in the right direction.”

“I am a strong supporter of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education. In his remarks, the President advocated for education policy that is better equipped to graduate students in STEM fields. Our country has a demand for high-skilled workers, and we must provide the resources our students need to excel in these careers. We must continue to emphasize the importance of STEM education because employers are looking for those skills to fill jobs here in the United States. If we want to remain on the competitive stage globally, then we must invest in STEM education.”

On Infrastructure:

“The President’s “Fix-It-First” program would both get people back to work, and address our aging infrastructure’s most urgent repairs.”

On Deficit Reduction:

“I agree with the President that we must have a balanced approach in cutting our deficit. Our country is in the process of rebuilding, and I believe that relief for the American people is on the horizon. Republican Members of Congress continue to push the message of slashing government spending, but we have cut so much already. They operate under the notion that our deficit created itself, or that these were not debts we incurred in the past. We can’t afford to just keep cutting without additional sources of revenue. The cuts will affect law enforcement, our first responders, nutrition assistance to low-income families, and emergency unemployment compensation. Deeper cuts to essential programs that assist small businesses and promote educational opportunities will have a detrimental impact on the future of this Nation. We need to have a bipartisan balanced approach in cutting the deficit.”

On Immigration Reform:

“I applaud the President’s push for a comprehensive immigration system. The time is now to act to on immigration reform. Many immigrants come to America looking for a better day, and I am supportive of providing opportunities to those that are hopeful for a better tomorrow. I believe that we must have a responsible pathway to citizenship, as well as protecting our border. My colleagues on both sides of the aisle must come together to create a plan that is truly comprehensive.”

On Climate Change:

“I was pleased to see that climate change was a focus in the President’s address. As the Ranking Member on the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, it is my duty and that of my colleagues to ensure we address our changing climate. We must continue to foster policies that are focused on prevention and prediction of devastating natural disasters. It is well past the time to address the costly impacts of a changing climate.”

On Gun Control:

“The horrific events like those at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and tragedies we see every day across this country are grim reminders of the need to curb gun violence. I am from a state where gun rights are extremely important, but I believe we must have commonsense reform. Background checks are needed to make sure that those who try and buy guns are mentally stable and of appropriate age. We need to restrict high capacity magazines, because too many lives have been lost already.”

Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston,

“The president spoke to all his critics tonight.”

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee

Rep. Jackson Lee called the State of the Union a roadmap for the future. She said President Obama extended an olive branch for bipartisanship, and will be listening for someone to take him up on his offer. Jackson Lee said her top four priorities are: immigration reform, energy solution, regional centers for technology and manufacturing, and bipartisan reform.